Galveston
by Beatlefnatic
Summary: More Jasper and Bella bonding, this time over a certian battle, canon couples...read and review and enjoy please! Edited for minor errors that I never manage to catch in time.


**A/N - Another one shot, more Jasper and Bella bonding. No music this time though….*gasp* Read, review and enjoy! ~B**

-Jasper POV-

I heard the pen slam down on the floor and the muttered curses from two floors above. Edward was out hunting with Alice, and while I was supposed to be keeping an eye on Bella, she had retreated to Edward's room, blushing as she murmured something about a paper for school. I shrugged the commotion off, the annoyance I felt was nothing new when it came time for high-school students to write term papers.

"No, I can't. Bella, you have to write this yourself." Now she was talking to herself. I focused harder, trying to figure out her emotions. Aggravation, normal, stress, normal but - awkwardness? What on earth had my brother's girlfriend gotten herself into this time? "No, you have a source.... I can't do that! It's rude…what will he think…..take advantage."

Before I could speculate further, I heard the tell-tale signs of movement from the third-floor bedroom, as Bella began pacing, still muttering about stupid wars and teachers and papers. Stupid Wars? I wished desperately, for a moment, to be able figure out what on earth was going on. I was experiancing an emotional rollercoaster at the moment. No wonder humans made Edward pinch the bridge of his nose, they were confusing. I turned back to the Civil War journal Alice had picked up for me, keeping an ear out for any thing unusual. With Bella, we never could predict - ha - what sort of trouble she could find.

"J-jasper?" Her soft voice broke my thoughts a half hour later. I turned in my chair to see her standing shyly at the landing between the second floor and the final set of stairs. Surprisingly, I hadn't heard her stumble down the first set of steps.

Before I could check my reactions, I arched an eyebrow at her. Bella never willingly came to me. I could feel her desire to get to know me better, but we both knew what was safer for her, not to mention the conniption fit Edward would have if I got to close - again.

She blushed, "Sorry - never mind. Didn't mean to bother you."

I stopped her before she could flee back into the confines of the third floor, "No, I'm sorry. You snuck up on me. How can I help?" I allowed Bella to see the small smirk slide across my lips, and was relieved to see a small grin in return.

"Well, it's this paper. I'm stuck." She was embarrassed to admit it. Before I could press for more details, she continued, "We're supposed to have a rough draft on one of the battles from the Civil War, from certain bias, and um, I was assigned the Battle of Galveston, Confederate view. And, I feel really bad asking you, but the internet is no help, and I can't find anything in the text and -"

I cut off her nervous ramblings. "Honestly, ma'am, I'm honored you decided to ask for my help. None of my siblings ever do. Come on, show me what you have, and we'll make this paper work." My heart was soaring that Bella trusted me enough to help her with her school work, and that she had paid attention to my personal history. The one plus side of repeating high school endlessly was the opportunity to study the Civil War, and engage in some hearty debates with the teachers. I had gotten in trouble at the beginning, refusing to believe my beloved South had lost, but quickly recovered, and would come out of my isolation for the short time the topic was scheduled.

I followed Bella up the stairs, catching her every time her equilibrium would cause her to trip and stumble, made worse, I'm sure by the fact that I was there, watching her every move. When we reached Edward's room, I burst out laughing. Papers and textbooks were scattered everywhere, the trashcan overflowing with rejected drafts. It was clear that Bella wasn't used to being stumped when it came down to writing papers. Galveston really must have thrown her for a loop.

"Well, your first problem is the text book for your class. I know for a fact it only has two lines on the entire scenario. Wait here, I have just what you need."

I raced to my study, grabbing the battered volumes that would help Bella win her personal war with her History class. Bella had cleaned up her mess, sprawling out on the floor with a notebook pulled in front of her, ignoring the fact that Edward had a perfectly decent desk and laptop only feet away. When I pointed this fact out, she just shrugged.

"I've always written papers like this. It's easier for me to think with pen and paper, and sometimes it just feels good to stretch out on the floor. Plus," She giggled, starting to relax, "I can't fall off the floor."

Laughing, I settled in next to her, pulling the spiral between us, and spreading the texts in front of us. "These are books I've picked up over the years, plus a journal of a 'fallen' solider from that battle. His story tells the whole battle, from a Confederate's view. According to the back, his body was never recovered, having disappeared when returning from a rescue mission."

Bella pulled the journal closer to her, studying the cover before whacking me on the shoulder. "Jasper Whitlock Hale Cullen! I cannot use _your_ journal!"

"And why not, Miss Isabella Swan? It is a published manuscript, still in circulation, and besides, nobody knows it's me. There aren't any photographs, see?" I flipped through the book, showing Bella that in fact, there were only the sketches the human me had made, including some of the failed formations. "I think your teacher will be quite impressed to see the effort a student finally put into this blasted paper."

Bella was eyeing me skeptically, "And what did you do your paper on last year?"

I groaned, "I was assigned the Battle of Gettysburg, from a Union bias. Most painful paper, ever."

She giggled, "So you had to admit the Union was stronger?"

I mock-growled and laughed, "Yes."

"Ew." Her nose wrinkled and her disgust felt real, "I've always felt a little sympathetic to the South. They were fighting for so much more than just slavery, which so many people have this skewed misconception of. I was actually relieved to get to write from a Confederate bias, I just didn't know how tricky it would actually be…"

Bella trailed off and I nodded in agreement. For the next two hours, we lay on Edward's carpet and sketched out a few rough drafts of the paper. Bella poured herself into all the texts, making notes in her notebook, drawing arrows to where she wanted to move paragraphs or quotes as she found them. When Bella took a break to stretch and get some food, I powered up the laptop, and began typing. Her observations were astounding, and I found myself agreeing with many. I laughed as I typed one of my personal observations, drawn from the journal Bella had originally objected to.

She returned shortly, and resumed her drafting, occasionally asking me to reformat and rework the paragraphs. I obliged, making few suggestions of my own. Bella had a knack for getting into character, had I not known Bella as well as I did, I never would have guess that this paper might have caused her any stress from the point of view standpoint. Everything was in her own voice, and by the time we finished, we were joking like old friends, teasing each other.

We knew the paper was far from a rough draft, having gotten carried away with details, but neither of us cared.

It was the most Bella and I had ever spoken, and I was relieved to finally be able to understand her ranting from earlier. She had been embarrassed to ask me, not wanting to dredge up unpleasant memories, but she knew if she wanted to do the paper properly, she needed to go directly 'to the source.'

"Thank you."

"For what?" I asked, confused. Bella was positively melting with relief and gratitude…and faith? Again, I was flummoxed by her emotions.

"Helping me. Not just with this paper, but with everything. For being a-a.." She broke off, searching for her wording, "for being a brother I never had."

I was flabbergasted, I hadn't realized she viewed me that way. "You're quite welcome ma'am." I bowed, and smiled, genuinely touched at her emotions.

Bella, my little sister, rewarded me with a curtsey and a smile of her own, a light blush touching her cheeks. The rush of blood didn't affect me as much as I would have initially thought. Tentatively, she approached. I guessed her intentions and beat her to the punch, scooping her into a massive bear hug, and spinning her around in a small circle. Emmett had done it to her a multitude of times, but the energy surrounding our hug was different. It was relief, relief that I could be closer, and gratitude, that Bella trusted me, had faith in me.

"Anytime you need help, don't be afraid to ask me…I'm here for you."

**A/N - ever since I finished "I've Got A Feeling" Jasper hasn't stopped bugging me for more bonding with Bella, but on his terms. He was quite demanding that I write a one-shot-ish type piece that wasn't based around music, but rather something he was knowledgeable about. I'm not sure how I feel about it, I think it gets sloppy in some parts, but I'm having fun writing as Major Whitlock. Let me know what you think! **


End file.
